I was a professional chef that had been recruited by Disney out of a French restaurant in Aspen to be part of the opening crew of their first 5 star restaurant called Victoria and Albert's. I had waited for months for this show, had officially requested that weekend off and drove down from Orlando with my girlfriend and another couple. We were having fun with the Dead Heads when the cell phone rang. It was Disney, and they wanted me back there the next afternoon. I was the ride; I looked at my gf, the other couple, and after a few seconds of silence, gave my reply to management. SCREW YOU! One of the best decisions I have ever made.

October 25, 1989 at the ill-fated Miami Arena. The only time ever that I actually had front row tix for a rock concert and I'm right in front of Phil with a Long Island transplant named John Guinta that I would only see one more time after that night (due to finding a girl that liked him).

The first set starts off with a great Hell In A Bucket followed by Sugaree and thumpin' Just A Little Light. Jerry looked & sounded good and Brent was in full throat. Friend Of The Devil was next and although not one of my fave Dead tunes I still was enjoying the moment.

As FOTD wound down, John uttered the sentence that would change the world of the Grateful Dead forever: "We're so close", he said, "Maybe if we yell a song out they'll play it".....and that was all I needed.

I quickly thought "OK Jerry is singing, Brent has sung, Bobby is up and they haven't done a Cowboy or Dylan song yet...." The song ended, nice applause and Bobby was adjusting the knobs on his guitar when...from somewhere...it just came out of me..."MEMPHIS BLUES! MEMPHIS BLUES BOBBY, MEMPHIS BLUES!"

He looked up from his guitar towards me and pointed at 2 other people before he leveled his finger and eyes at me. John said, "SHIT HE HEARD YA!!!" and Phil said to Bobby, "Wanna do it?" and Bobby nodded and said "Okay". The unmistakable bass line began and everyone surrounding me mobbed me, patting me on the back and screaming encouragement.

"Well the ragman he draws circles, up and down the block..." and away we went. I sang every word to myself and thought about the zillions of people that have said to their friends "I called that tune" and hell I really DID!

Rousing finish to the song and the set and halftime saw me swarmed by people shaking my hand. When they came out for the second set we yelled our thanks to Phil and Bobby and they waved back.

It's been downhill ever since but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride!

This show always strikes me as the "calm before the storm". The Miami '89 shows were a wonder to behold. It seemed like every "serious" deadhead had made the trip down to sunny Florida, and the mood - even in the lots seemed very "no nonsence".

This first night was very much "Florida Dead". Lots of bright neon colors, a tropical sounding Playin'... all in all a very nice show.

But.

NOTHING could have prepared us for what was to come the second night....

It's been a while since I've reviewed show, but I'm back baby!! 89' Fall east coast was a great tour and this represents a solid effort for this era Jerry is definitely on. It's the kind of show where your like maybe Memphis Blues isn't so bad after all--if that makes any sense. That being said, it doesn't compare to the Dicks Picks 33 I'm listening to in my car for the last week. Now those are two good shows...

But I disress, 1st set highlights: Sugaree, FOTD and a sweet Deal (total Jerry fest). 2nd set: Playin>UJB>Playin and Truckin. Overall there's lots of kind and minimal schwag.

but weren't they all? really enjoyed the playin/uncle john's/playin. not too many shows down here in florida until about this time, but for a few years we got quite a few! made the drive home a lot shorter.

Well played and really well-recorded. Strong first half, and you can never go wrong with Playin>Uncle John's>Playin to open set II.